The April issue, our last of the season, is out… got yours?

• The Brier and STOH, by Larry Wood
• Worlds in Japan
• Rodger Schmidt previews the Ford Men’s Worlds
• They Said It: Brier edition
• WEB SPECIAL: Ryan Durham on a CCA fear of… Toronto?
• Jill Officer on the Grand Slams
• Introducing the Tylenol Players’ Championship
• Doug Maxwell on the little paper that could
• 50th Anniversary Retrospective: Buckets, Matty and Woody… plus Ferb on the Jumbotron
• WEB SPECIAL: Matt Hames says Brad Gushue wasn’t impatient; he was playing chess
• Eight ends or ten? Larry Wood on the return of a curling debate
• Asham Club Corner: CCA releases the ultimate curling guidebook (and it’s awesome)
• Newsdesk: the curling coin, 2010 venue breaks ground, Schmirler events and Avonlea finale
• Teri Lake on the first time
• The Curling News TV Guide
• The Curling News Store

… and more!

Coming soon… the biggest gol-darn collection of curling links you’ve ever seen. Prepare your click finger(s)…

It’s all over. And it’s a crying shame.

Thanks and kudos to Ryan for the photo, taken during the final song, played acoustic on the Massey floor amidst fans, families, and a human pyramid.

There aren’t many occasions where we divert from curling onto another topic, but this is one of those times.

The Rheostatics, Canada’s most beloved and utterly unlabellable – is that even a word? – independent rock band, are calling it quits. At least, the founding lineup will end following their final club show tonight and their final concert hall gig tomorrow night.

And seeing as departing bassist/vocalist Tim Vesely (photo above, with madman guitarist Martin Tielli) is responsible for some of their biggest “hits” – see the incredibly lush Claire and the stunning sonic swoops of Bad Time To Be Poor on this page – we at The Curling News are definitely in mourning.

We invite you to read the farewells in today’s Star, today’s Torontoist, a recent Eye Weekly, in two great Blogosphere postings here and here, and cries of denial here and here.

Of note is a personal farewell from rhythm guitarist/vocalist Dave Bidini in today’s Glob and Flail. Bidini is, of course, also an accomplished author and all his books should be explored, but this one is simply a must-read.

And the beat goes on. The Rheos were recently surprised with a secret tribute album assembled by their CanRock peers; past videos are cropping up here; CBC has posted a hefty visual tribute; and now stunning rare, live shows are finding an online home.

Apart from the essentials Claire and Bad Time (above), here’s three quick vidlinks for you to get a taste of the always-changing Rheos. The Tarleks is probably their best video (and yes, that is the real Frank Bonner)… Power Ballad to Ozzy Osborne provides another hint to their humour… and the brilliant Stolen Car – performed live at CBC studios – is simply wonderous to the senses.

A few years ago, we e-mailed Bidini about the lack of a Rheos curling song. After all, if they can write a song entitled The Ballad of Wendel Clark, then how about curling?

Bidini politely demurred, but at least he replied. But we’re not bitter. Just disappointed, and not at the sporting snub.

They will be missed.

1998 Olympian and CBC curling commentator Mike Harris (above), newly returned from Alberta, is back in Ontario and has three-quarters of his new team firmed up.

John Epping, the youthful former national mixed champ and recent third-place finisher at the Ontario TSC Stores Tankard, will play third. Harris stalwart Trevor Wall throws lead.

The Curling News can also confirm that, yes indeed, Harris and Wayne Middaugh – on-ice rivals, off-ice pals and co-inductees into the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame – were, until recently, talking about a merger.

It was Middaugh’s idea that he would throw third for Harris, but after a week of discussions, Middaugh eventually signed up Jon Mead and Graeme McCarrel instead.

“He (Middaugh) called it off, and my first thought was ‘Thank God’ ” Harris told TCN… with a grin.

“I thought I was the only one who was crazy to think about it.”

Harris’ second is expected to be confirmed next week.

Well, well… looks like some of the management minds at Ontario’s government-owned The Beer Store have finally realized that a celebrity actually works for them… and, hey, is getting a ton of press these days.

In all seriousness, the $5,000 donation for breast cancer awareness that Glenn Howard’s employers made yesterday in Hogtown (TBS photo above) is a fine gesture of support for Team Howard, aimed squarely at the charity of choice which the team has adopted in such brilliant fashion this season.

Amid some fine preview stories on the imminent Ford World Men’s Curling Championships, The Curling News has learned, exclusively, that 2006 Olympic silver medallist and Finnish hero Markku Uusipaavalniemi was recently elected to Finland’s parliament.

As reported by the national daily Helsingen Sanomat:

On the other hand, the captain of the Finnish curling team in Torino 2006, Markku Uusipaavalniemi, managed to secure a Centre Party place from the Uusimaa constituency. M-15, as he is called in curling circles, should increase the average IQ of the 200-member assembly: he is said to be able to resolve the Rubik Cube puzzle in 25 seconds.

Incidentally, Makkuu has struggled on the ice this year. A fairly drab showing at December’s European Championships in Basel was followed by an almost-upset in the Finnish playdowns for next season’s Euro shootout; however, Uusipavaalniemi recovered to win the spot for Füssen.

M-15 received 2,804 votes and as a member of the “Keskusta partiet” will be one of only 200 people to make decisions for the entire country.

Cool.

Almost one year ago The Curling News, to the embarassment of the Manitoba sports media scene, broke the news of Jon Mead’s departure from the sport of curling.

Today, the Winnipeg Sun has the scoop that Mead (photo) is on his way back to the sport, on a three-year plan to win the Olympic Trials with… guess who…

Wayne Middaugh.

Yep, no playdowns for Mead, and no physical upheaval from his Winnipeg base; just an eye on buckets of cash and CTRS points en route to Vancouver 2010. Via the province of Ontario, that is.

Welcome back Jonny. It’s not the first time you were considered for a spot on an Ontario team (any guesses folks?) but this full-time commitment is another matter.

Welcome back to Graeme “Crackers” McCarrel too, although it’s really no surprise.

Next up… who Middaugh might have played with next year, had the deal gone through. And if you thought today’s news is pretty wild, just wait until you read this.

But you’ll have to wait a bit for that.

AOMORI, Japan – A morning earthquake here in northern Japan – centered just a few hundred miles away and registering 7.1 on the Richter scale – was a prelude to Canada’s thunderous power on the curling ice.

Canada’s Kelly Scott beat back a revitalized Denmark squad to win the 2007 World Women’s Curling Championship by an 8-4 score, the first adult worlds event ever held in Asia.

“We were on a mission today,” said Scott. “The curling girls were on a mission.”

It marked Canada’s 14th world women’s title, and Scott becomes the only skip in history to win both the world championship and world junior championship. As Kelly Mackenzie, the diminutive skip also won the 1995 junior championship in Perth, Scotland.

Big winners not once but twice against the Danes earlier in the week, the Canadians were in for an early nailbiter as Denmark – comeback winners in the bronze medal game the previous night – came out blazing. Skip rocker Madeleine Dupont was clocking 87 per cent in shooting performance, almost a full 20 points higher than her cumulative average.

Up 4-3 at the halfway point, the Canadians turned it up a notch. Lead Renee Simons buried a stone in the sixth end and it held up for a steal. In the seventh, second Sasha Carter and third Jeanna Schraeder executed brilliantly, and their high-pressure tactics opened an even bigger lead with a steal of two.

The Danes, led by skip Angelina Jensen, could only score a single point through the final four ends, and conceded after Canada scored another in the ninth.

One year ago, Canadian curling fans were calling for Scott’s head on a platter. The team stumbled through the worlds on home ice in Grande Prairie, managing a bronze medal but undergoing withering criticism for aimless strategy and poor shot execution.

Today, following a run of 24-3 in their last two tournaments, Team Scott are clearly the most efficient women’s curling machine in the world.

“So many things happened to this team (in the last year),” said coach Gerry Richard.

“If you count the Olympic trials, we had three major events in three months. We learned a lot, and we went to work on improvements.”

Richard said the team broke down their deliveries and reworked their releases to find the most optimum way to throw the stone. It’s a story to inspire any curler, whether a high-performance athlete or a rookie struggling with the basics.

“Look at Tiger Woods,” said Richard. “He himself reworks things, he adjusts his swing all the time. If it’s good enough for him, it’s good enough for us, and it’s good enough for everybody.”

And in an ominous note to their challengers, the new champions are prepared to continue improving.

“We’re at about 80-85 per cent of our potential right now,” said Richard.

“We can produce a little more.”

Canada would have earned 14 Olympic points toward qualifying status for the 2010 Olympic Winter Games, but are pre-qualified as host nation. Denmark received 12 Olympic points, while bronze-medallists Scotland – skipped by Kelly Wood – grabbed 10 points.

Other nations impressing with a head start on Olympic qualifying included Debbie McCormick of the United States (7-4 round-robin record for nine Olympic points), Switzerland’s Silvana Tirinzoni (6-5 for eight points), Sweden’s disappointing Anette Norberg, the 2006 Olympic champions (6-5 for seven points) and Japan, Russia and Germany, who all tied at 4-7 to earn four Olympic points each.

Italy and the Czech Republic, making their world debut, both took 1.5 Olympic points for their 2-9 won/loss record.

The next global championship for women, the 2008 Ford World Women’s Curling Championships, takes place next year in Vernon, Canada, not far from Scott’s home base of Kelowna.

Next week, the 2007 Ford World Men’s Curling Championship gets underway in Edmonton, Canada, with the finals ending April 8. Over 170,000 tickets have been pre-sold for the event.

AOMORI – Don’t count the Danes (photo from the third end by CurlingZone) out quite yet.

They’re playing well – better than any previous efforts against Canada – and moreover, the normally rock-solid middle lineup of Team Canada, Sasha Carter and Jeanna Schraeder, are struggling a tad.

AOMORI – Just a few minutes before game time, and head ice tech Hans Wuthrich is fretting about frost. It’s a gorgeous day outside – 13 degrees C – and it’s never been as warm inside as it is today.

Also, Richard Hart just called from Port Hawkesbury, where it’s gawd-knows-what time in the morning, to check in on proceedings. We suggested he and the boys film more of Craig Savill’s moves for another YouTube moment …

by Teri Lake

PORT HAWKESBURY, N.S. – Getting to The Hawk was just as much about having a beer as it was hitting the arena. Mind you, the bartender at dinner asking me if I wanted a glass – or not – with my Keith’s draught order sort of threw me… but I did get my beer!

And Port Hawkesbury is indeed pumped for curling! With hardly an empty seat in the Civic Centre, and lots more filling out the standing room areas, great curling is not going unnoticed in this small Capre Breton town. Perennial fan favourite, Brad Gushue, has his own cheering section of giggly girlies, and the more experienced cougs have an eye for this guy.

Speaking of Brad and the boys, they couldn’t be in Winterpeg for this announcement, but still more congrats are in order. Here’s a photo (above) of Brad straining his hand muscles, courtesy of the local blat.

Crowd-pleasing in the pseudo-Patch was traditional Maritimers McGuinty and they are straight from the Hali pub circuit. They put on a great show and the dance floor was overtaken by local ladies looking to impress the sharp shooters (one even rocked a shirt from… here, yikes). As the night wore on, the party moved to a local bar/Chinese buffet combo… seriously!

It’s playoff time already in this third of four Grand Slam events for 06/07. No real surprises in the teams making the quarters and victories by Kevin Martin over Shawn Adams, Randy Ferbey over Scotland’s Tom Brewster and Kevin Koe over Gushue will ensure a great finish here in the Hawk. Brier champ Glenn Howard got sent packing with Team Don Walchuk’s upset victory – with Vancouverite Brent Pierce guesting for Don – and complete the roster for an all-Alberta semi round.

Speaking of those semis, time to go …

AOMORI – It’s Canada versus Denmark for the world curling championship. Again.

Canada’s Kelly Scott will seek her third win of the week over Denmark’s Angelina Jensen in Sunday’s final of the 2007 World Women’s Championship.

On Saturday, Scott methodically picked apart the Danish team 11-3 to advance directly to the final, after having also beaten the Danes 8-1 in just seven ends during the round-robin.

Denmark then made a stunning comeback from both the loss to Canada and a 5-1 deficit to Scotland in Saturday night’s bronze medal game. The Danes scored steals in the eighth end (for two), the ninth end, and also the tenth (another two) for a 9-6 triumph in the de facto semi-final.

A disappointed Kelly Wood settled for bronze, the first medal of her international career.

The fun-loving Danes lept into each others’ arms following the improbable win. Madeleine Dupont, who throws skip stones for Jensen, admitted she though they had lost after the first five ends.

“It was really tough in the beginning,” said Dupont.

“I said, ‘let’s give up, we don’t believe in it… f**k it,’ actually,” Dupont giggled. “The others really thought we could do it.”

And what did her teammates say to her after the game?

“I told you so!” said Dupont.

Denmark also solved the Scots in the round-robin, winning that game by the same 9-6 linescore. Against Canada, the Danes know they will have to do something different.

“We have to be a little more aggressive,” said Dupont.

“Try and put a little more pressure on them than we did in the morning.”

Scott’s Canadian champions have rarely looked beatable in Aomori, and Scott is clearly focused on Sunday’s task.

“This year we’re not going to be satisfied unless we cap it off with a win,” said Scott, the 2006 third-place finisher.

“There’s no better time to go out and grab it.”

Against Denmark, the Canadian champions scored a deuce in the third end, followed by a steal of two in the fourth and another single in the fifth to build another 5-1 lead on their opponents.

In the seventh, the wheels fell off for the Danes as a cacophony of throwing and sweeping errors led to an enormous steal of five points. After going through the motions in the eighth, Jensen managed a point and promptly conceded.

“We expected a much tighter game but we’ll take ’em and run,” said Scott.

The Danes wrecked repeatedly on guards, missing the shots they had made earlier in the week.

The loss was their third in a row following an 8-1 start, but they managed a shocking regroup against the Scots.

The lineup is also quite different, as Jensen threw second stones (up from lead) and alternate Ane Hanson is seeing action. Jensen’s sister Camilla, the regular second, had to leave Japan on Friday to write a university exam in Copenhagen.

It was the biggest playoff trouncing at the women’s worlds since Canada’s Cathy Borst stomped Norway’s Dordi Nordby 10-2 in the 1988 bronze medal game.

The championship final marks only the second meeting between the countries in major international women’s finals. In 1998, just a few hours away in Karuizawa, Japan, Canada’s Sandra Schmirler defeated Denmark’s Helena Blach Lavrsen 7-5 to win Olympic gold.

AOMORI – It was a single errant 42-pound hunk of granite that spoiled Debbie McCormick’s day.

The U.S. champion missed a crucial but routine draw in the third end of the Page 3/4 Playoff match, handed four stolen points to Scotland’s Kelly Wood and spiralled out of the 2007 World Women’s Curling Championships.

The final score was 11-5 in nine ends.

“It was a little heavy, but I guess I was just wide,” said McCormick, the 2006 finalist and 2003 champion (photo by CurlingZone).

“It’s very disappointing after getting so close last year. They (Scotland) played well.”

The beginning of the end started innocently enough. The Americans missed repeated efforts to draw behind cover, and the Scots knocked the U.S. rocks clear. On McCormick’s last stone, there were four Scottish rocks in the rings but the path was wide-open for a simple draw to the rings for a point.

However, McCormick was a touch wide, the rock ran straight and crashed on a guard, and the U.S. suddenly trailed 5-0.

“There’s no way you would imagine that,” said Wood, who will face the loser of Saturday’s Page 1/2 game between Canada and Denmark. The winner of that match is into Sunday’s final.

“There was so much ice, it was a bit of a shock. It was strange, but nice.”

Wood is guaranteed a bronze medal.

“It’s my first medal in six or seven (international) championships,” said the enthused skip. “I’ve never been this far into the playoffs. I’m just going to enjoy the games the rest of the way.”

Prior to the game, the final four teams enjoyed a practice day, followed by a demonstration of Mixed Doubles curling, the new discipline being promoted by the World Curling Federation.

Numerous teams, coaches and curious spectators attended the four-end exhibition, which featured a Danish pair – Denise Dupont and coach Ulrik Damm – versus an American twosome (alternate Maureen Brunt and coach Rob Meakin) and American pairs throwing five rocks each, and with two extra stones placed in strategic positions before each end.

The game was filmed by World Curling Television to help the sport’s 46 member nations develop the discipline in their countries.

The first World Mixed Doubles Curling Championship takes place in Vierumäki, Finland in conjunction with the 2008 World Seniors, March 9-15 next year.

AOMORI – Just a wee photo to whet your curling appetite.

Yes, we’re still here in Japan, while Teri is in Atlantic Canada at The National.

More soon …

by Teri Lake

HALIFAX – What the Hawk?

My bags are packed and I’m ready to go. And if it wasn’t for this day-job thingy holding me back, I’d be there already.

I’m heading to the epicentre-du-jour of curling… Port Hawkesbury, NS! (Ahem, epicentre of “men’s” curling this weekend… sorry Aomori).

Whaaaa? I’m going where, you ask?

Port Hawkesbury, Nova Scotia is the unlikely host to one of the cornerstone events on the (men’s) Asham World Curling Tour circuit: The National. A Grand Slam event, no less. For the second consecutive year, The Hawk’s Civic Centre will welcome 16 of the best teams “in the world,” according to the PHCC website. Hey, I agree!

Recent Brier top dawg Glenn Howard’s marathon rolls on as he says hello in the Hawk before jetting to Edmonton for a little event called the Ford Worlds in early April.

Tankard trophy runner-up Brad Gushue will be in town along with the veteran/young pup combo of Team Kevin Martin. Speaking of Martin, his former third Don Walchuk’s new squad is on the roster as well. Also, lycra-lovin’ Pete Fenson’s Olympic bronzers headline the international contingent. And never forget about the Ferbster and team.

Scotian entry Shawn Adams will likely be excited to get back to playin’ with the big boys after narrowly missing this year’s Brier, ‘Toban Kerry Burtnyk along with fellow flatlanders Pat Simmons and Kevin Koe up the ante as serious Slam contenders, and Scotland’s Tom Brewster will be Hammying it up on this side of the pond.

Unfortunately for me, the battle got underway earlier today and I’m still home, but staying entertained, as the work week winds down. Getting a hotel room was a heckuva task so if that’s any indication, Port Hawkesbury is pumped for curling! Looking forward to sharing the excitement with you, live from The National, when I finally get there, on Friday. And with no national television scheduled for this one, you’ve only got online options to follow along: CurlTV (subscription only), the good old boys at CurlingZone’s scoring pages, and… me!